Most of us want to know the Bible better, and if that’s you this page is for you.
As a Church we are currently following a Bible reading plan which covered half the Old Testament last year and will cover the second half next year (2027). We are reading the New Testament this year and hard copies of the plan are available at Mount Zion or an electronic copy can be downloaded.
If you want to read the Bible without using technology you can pick up a printed copy at Mount Zion or print it at home yourself. The reading plan will take you through the New Testament this year; it’s a five day a week plan where you’ll read one chapter a day for five days and you can use the weekends to catch up if you miss a day or two, or reread some chapters or read other parts of the Bible. If you get behind, don’t worry – just start again at the current date in the plan.
The 2026 New Testament plan is available as an A5 booklet here which you can either print or save to read on your computer or device. If you read it on a computer or other device you can check the check boxes as you go to record your progress.
If you want daily reminders and help understanding or applying what you read in the Bible there are a number of other options, such as:
- the Bible in One Year – created by Nicky Gumbel and part of Alpha International. It has its own website here. It has a phone app if you want it, or you can receive daily emails, and there are three options: Classic, Youth and Express. This is also available as a printed book.
- YouVersion: this has an app which allows you to read the Bible, receive a verse of the day and follow a reading plan of your choice (including the Bible in One Year). I didn’t look at all the available reading plans but there seem to be wide variety of them.
- Lectio 365: this is a phone app which leads you through morning and evening prayers and Bible readings. The morning prayers help you to pray the Bible and the night prayers help you to process the day and prepare to sleep. Lectio 365 is produced but the 24-7 Prayer movement (started by Pete Grieg and I think the app uses Pete’s voice).
- Through the Word: this is a new phone app which has daily Bible readings and explanations of the Bible text. It offers sets of readings on individual books in the Bible, themes and going through the Old or New Testament in a year. They provide a guide to choosing a Bible reading plan here. I haven’t tried this, but it seems good based on my very brief try out.
The phone/tablet apps generally have a lot of helpful features such as:
- a choice of the Bible translation to use
- reading the Bible for you
- daily reminders
- keeping track of what you’re covered
- leading you through the prayer or reflection
- explanations of the Bible text
- someone reading the Bible and leading you through the prayer
If you do try out any of the above methods of reading the Bible more, please let me know how you get on so I can update this page based on your experience. You can contact me, Andrew Cunningham, by email at andrew@cardigan.church.